Mechanic breathes life into farmers, machines

ROCHESTER, Wash. -- Thomas Kamiya proudly points out a rototiller that was underwater for four days during a 2007 flood.

"We clean up, start up, it runs," he said. "It's a miracle."

Less miraculous are the lessons he teaches his students. The
Japanese-Canadian retired as a heavy duty mechanic in 2009, and he now
spends about six months a year teaching young organic farmers how to
maintain their equipment.

Until this summer, Kamiya has taken his class on the road only in
Canada. Now he's working his way south, through Western Washington and
Oregon. He's hoping someone in California will invite him to continue
south.

Kamiya came to Canada from Japan in 1975, studied at the Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology and started working at Finning
International, a heavy equipment company based in Vancouver, B.C. There
he settled into what he calls "The Canadian Dream" -- a wife, two kids
and a garden.

Since he retired, he has shared his knowledge with 123 farmers and counting. He is now 67 and has no plans to retire again.

Why focus his teaching on organic farmers?

"Organic farmers support public health," he said. "They are food doctors. They are a 'farmacy' -- that's with an 'F.'"

Many young farmers have come from non-farm backgrounds and never had to learn technical skills.

Kamiya said he teaches life skills in parallel with mechanics.
"Maintenance is good for the machine and for life," he said. "You
shouldn't need to repair it. That means you didn't do maintenance."

Taking care of machines need not be difficult, but it is all-important.

"One minute of checking for leaks before start-up can save you a thousand dollars," he said.

A 1958 Farmall Cub now runs well after he taught a young farmer how
to troubleshoot it. He called the repair and parts manual "the machine's
Bible."

This machine should last another 20 years, "but without maintenance,
tomorrow morning it's gone. You have to make it last. They're not making
these anymore."

Student Drew Schneidler said any of Kamiya's student had better be ready to work.

"He's a traveling teacher, not a traveling mechanic," he said.

Schneidler farms next to Helsing Junction Farm, where Kamiya stayed
during his visit to the area. The young farmer has confidence to do
things he earlier would have hired out to a mechanic.

"Before, I could tinker. Now I can figure out anything wrong, at
least with smaller machines. With bigger machines, at least I get in the
ballpark."

Kamiya doesn't charge for his services, asking only for a place to plug in the van he travels and lives in.

Any donations go to relief efforts in the earthquake- and tsunami-stricken areas of Japan, where he plans to teach next summer.

"I want to build a bridge from the U.S. to Japan," he said. "I want to bring hope from heart to heart."

I
ended up on the phone with Thomas and told him that though we may not
need any maintenance work I would be delighted to meet him. He came down
to the farm on Saturday and stayed until early Monday morning. I
know he was a bit frustrated by the fact that we made him take
Father's Day off. This man really likes to work. I think he was duly
impressed by our maintenance program and completely baffled by the
safety measures we take here. He was unwilling to believe that we had not had a fire when he saw that we have fire extinguishers in all our buildings and field and delivery vehicles. After searching and searching, meticulously going over our tractors, lawn mower, chainsaw, weed-eater, pressure-washer, and two generators, Thomas was finally able to point out one grease fitting that had not been serviced.

My daughter took a real shine to Thomas and his elegant manner and thoughtful approach to an intentional journey are inspiring.